Last updated on July 16th, 2024 at 04:27 pm
Fleet management comes with many responsibilities, one of which is the safety of your drivers. They are the ones out there on the road in all weathers and all hours! Driving huge vehicles loaded with goods isn’t like your everyday job; there are more risks involved when you’re the one in charge of a moving (at speed) amount of tons. As a fleet manager, even if you’ve been doing it for a while – there are always things that you can consider to make improvements in the safety of your fleet.
Testing
Without fail, there should be testing for drugs and alcohol for every driver in your fleet. Drivers that are under the influence are one of the biggest causes of trucking accidents and causing catastrophic damage to others. Although you should be able to trust all of your drivers, testing is the best way to ensure they are not putting their life or the lives of others at risk.
Route Planning
Good fleet management requires detailed route planning. In some weather conditions, the routes that are usually taken might not be safe. While route planning and sticking to those routes is great for financial planning, a regular adjustment of routes to account for new circumstances on the road is a must.
There is a safety consideration with route planning, too, because when a driver knows the route, they are less likely to make mistakes or to speed. Speeding is another area where truck drivers can cause horrific accidents.
Route planning should include rest stops, notes of any traffic or road works to be expected, any tough driving situations, fuel stations, and more. Using the information from your vehicle tracking system, you can create comprehensive route plans.
Deadlines
As a business owner, it can feel awful to turn down work, but when it comes to logistics, getting things to their final destination at speed is the task. Before accepting any job with a short deadline, consider the stress this puts on both you and your drivers to get it there – no matter how much money is on offer, if it is something that is tough to pull off – decline the contract.
Training
The key to having highly qualified and safe drivers is ensuring you have the right training for them. New drivers are more likely to make decisions that could be dangerous, while those who have a lot of training are more defensive when driving. Your business should have a set of policies that everyone is expected to follow – no matter how long they have been at the company.Â
Make Safety The Priority
In the end, no one wants to be in an accident, but some drivers are more likely to take risks that put them and others in danger. Safety should be the most important factor in fleet management and above the profit margin because, in the end, slow is smooth, and smooth is fast. This means that when safety is at the forefront of the mind, your drivers will drive at a reasonable speed and are less likely to make mistakes.
When you are making structural changes to your fleet, these are things that can be embedded in all of the new materials and drivers; in modern times, moving to a greener fleet is common: Setting Up a Fleet of Fully Electric Vehicles.
